8 comments:

I guess I'm curious to what extent you agree with that excerpt. It's certainly true that it's more pleasurable to work with a cooperative patient (indeed it's usually a requirement for procedures to be effective that the patient cooperates). On the other hand, the text has the good old "father knows best" tone that would be great if there weren't so many incompetent physicians out there.

I think a more realistic message is not "trust your doctor he knows what he's doing," I would say the message is "Make up your damn mind, if you're going to do the treatment then don't half-ass it" (ok, less eloquent :P)

Obviously the relationship will be much more productive if there is some level of mutual trust and respect.

But doctors don't always get it right. In fact, if I had gone with a doctor's cursory evaluation instead of listening to my gut, I'd be minus my right arm, quite literally.

You guys want to be up on that pedestal when it comes to your medical judgment, skill and knowledge. But you want the world to cut you some slack for being human when you screw up.

So which is it gonna be?

Not meant as a smackdown, because you guys are the experts and I'm not in a place to tell you what to do. But there's nothing wrong with patients asking questions. Indeed, patients shouldn't go along blindly with whatever the doctor orders.

Anon 12:24 - Clearly asking questions is the right thing to do.I suppose my comment strayed from the original topic of the post.I meant merely to criticize the idea that the internet allows people to diagnose themselves.Returning to the post at 4:49 (same anon?), I too think that the original post has an overtly paternalistic tone. I took it as a tongue in cheek comment by Dr. S, and not necessarily an expression of his true treatment philosophy. My guess is that, even in the ED setting, he encourages questions that increase understanding and adherence to therapy.

Shadowfax

About me: I am an ER physician and administrator living in the Pacific Northwest. I live with my wife and four kids. Various other interests include Shorin-ryu karate, general aviation, Irish music, Apple computers, and progressive politics. My kids do their best to ensure that I have little time to pursue these hobbies.

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